'The situation is desperate'
2005-07-21 09:58
London - About 3.6 million people face starvation in the West African nation of Niger unless the international community responds urgently to the food crisis there, aid agency Oxfam said on Thursday.
Landlocked Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, was devastated by an invasion of locusts that ate everything green last year and was then hit by drought that lasted until earlier this month.
The United Nation's (UN) humanitarian chief, Jan Egeland, said earlier this week 2.5 million people in Niger were in desperate need of food after the world community ignored UN appeals for urgent aid.
Oxfam estimated almost one million children were at risk because of the food shortages.
Desperate measures
"The situation is desperate. Even the limited food that is available has soared in price, rendering it unaffordable for most families, and there is no hope of any harvest for at least three months," said Natasha Kafoworola Quist, an Oxfam spokesperson. "Families are feeding their children grass and leaves from the trees to keep them alive."
Oxfam said UN appeals for aid were "dangerously" underfunded, with only one third of the money needed from donors being pledged. In many cases, the pledged money has not arrived, the agency added.
The UN first appealed for assistance for Niger in November and got almost no response. Another appeal for $16m in March got about $1m. The latest appeal on May 25 for $30m has received about $10m.
The UN "needs money now. Every day that the world's richest countries look the other way, more people face starvation. They have to put their hands in their pockets before it's too late", added Quist.
- AP